Complications:Motivation – Redemption: Diamondback is a former villain who has found her niche as a hero.Reputation: Regardless of her heroic acts, many people will always see a villain when they look at Diamondback.

Its amazing what the slightest bit of character development will do for a no-mark character, Diamondback is not going to be challenging Galactus (or probably even Mockingbird) but she actually has traits rather than just a concept (unlike most of the other serpents). My favourite Diamondback story was an X-Men annual where she and Dazzler had traded bodies, and she acted like a dick by eating tons of nasty food in front of poor old Allison. Was it epic? no. Did it make the character instantly more identifiable? definitely.

Complications:Motivation – Mercenary: Voorhees makes no bones about what he wants from life. He wants to be richer than his wildest dreams and it drives his criminal career.Coward: King Cobra often assumes discretion to be the better part of valour and has a reputation as a coward.Enemy: Mister Hyde

Built a fair few power levels above pretty much everyone else in the Serpent Scociety, Cobra has actually gone toe to toe with some of the MU's big hitters, not least Thor. He has some superhuman abilities that allow him a few tricks, but most of his offensive puch comes from his costume and his weaponry.

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Anaconda is a mercenary and motivated by money.Gynocentrist: Anaconda will often seek out strong male heroes to test her strength against them.Noticable: Anaconda’s physical modifications make her stand out in a crowd.

Costs: Abilities 40 + Skills 4 + Advantages 3 + Powers 10 + Defences 15 = 72 points Steelworker Blanche Sitzniski was working for the Roxxon Oil Corporation when she was selected to take part in an augmentation experiment. The treatments she underwent made her superhumanly strong with elongating arms that she uses to crush opponents and gills that make her completely amphibious. As Anaconda she loves to show off her strength, particularly enjoying crushing strong men. She remains one of the core members of the Serpent Society even now that it is seemingly on the decline.

Complications:Motivation – Thrills: Asp is not particularly evil and is a member of the Society because she enjoys the rush.

Costs: Abilities 26 + Skills 8 + Advantages 7 + Powers 28 + Defences 23 = 92 points The Asp (Cleo Nefertiti- which may not be the name she was born with) was a former exotic dancer turned criminal although her powers are of an unknown origin (there has been some suggestion that she may be a mutant). She joined the Serpent Society and served with it for a time but was instrumental in aiding her friend Diamondback’s escape from them and so was branded a traitor. Following her exit from the Serpents she became part of the all female private detective agency along with fellow Society alumni Black Mamba and Diamondback. Asp could generate a burst of bioelectricity capable of killing weak foes. This energy slowly built up in her system and by dancing she could slow release it for a paralytic effect. Asp was not a skilled combatant and was more useful for the purposes of seduction and infiltration.

Complications:Motivation – Thrills: Black Mamba is not particularly evil and is a member of the Society because she enjoys the rush.

Costs: Abilities 26 + Skills 8 + Advantages 7 + Powers 28 + Defences 23 = 92 points Former call girl Tanya Seeley gained her powers when an experimental chip was placed in her brain and she gained the ability to tap into the Darkforce Dimension. She is able to summon an image of a loved one that then drains the life out of an opponent. She joined the Serpent Society where she provided support as she was ill suited to frontline combat. She was close to Diamondback and betrayed the society to save her friend’s life, subsequently forming a detective agency called BAD Girls Inc with Diamondback and the Asp. She was a member of the Delaware state Initiative team – The Women Warriors. Black Mamba's power could be built in a lot of different ways, depending just how granular you really want to get. I opted for maximum simplicity... what does it do? It drains life force. The "illusion" element has no real flexibility and is built into the perception area here. The Will save on the Weaken actually represents the target's ability to avoid being taken in by their "loved one".

Complications:Motivation – Mercenary: Black Racer, like many Serpents, is in it for the money.

Costs: Abilities 24 + Skills 2 + Advantages 2 + Powers 33 + Defences 7 = 68 points Black Racer is a relatively mysterious young woman named Arania, her surname remains unrevealed as does the origin of her speed based powers. She was one of the members of the Serpent Squad who infiltrated the Serpent Society as part of Viper’s coup against Sidewinder. Subsequently she remained part of the Society and is still a member to date.

Complications:Motivation – Mercenary: Boomslang, like many Serpents, is in it for the money.

Costs: Abilities 32 + Skills 2 + Advantages 9 + Defences 13 = 56 points Boomslang was one of the Serpent Squad villains employed by Viper to infiltrate the Serpent Society and facilitate her coup. He had no powers but threw boomerangs with a serpent theme that he called Serpentrangs. He was shot by a gang of youths while trying to run away from Captain America and, although he survived, he has not been seen since and is assumed to have retired.

Complications:Motivation – Mercenary: Bushmaster, like many Serpents, is in it for the money.Freak: Bushmaster is a cyborg quadruple amputee and wallows in despair over his condition.

Costs: Abilities 32 + Skills 2 + Advantages 9 + Defences 13 = 56 points Quincy McIver originates in the Caribbean where his brother was a crime lord using the name Bushmaster. While attempting to escape the police McIver was in a boat accident that left him a quadruple amputee. The Roxxon Corporation gave him cybernetic arms and replaced his legs with a cybernetic tail. He felt at home in the Serpent Society, and was one of the members who remained loyal to Sidewinder during Viper’s coup. He also became close to Diamondback who saved his life after MODOK severed his artificial limbs and he was against the plan to put her to death over her perceived betrayal of the Society. Bushmaster was believed dead for a short period but he is still alive and still part of the Serpent Society.

Complications:Motivation – Mercenary: Coachwhip, like many Serpents, is in it for the money.Weakness: Coachwhip has extremely sensitive eyes and is vulnerable to visual dazzles.

Costs: Abilities 22 + Skills 2 + Advantages 5 + Powers 16 + Defences 19 = 64 points Beatrix Keenan is the ruthless Coachwhip, a serpent who shows no mercy. She joined the Society as part of Viper’s coup but like most associates remained on with the team when Viper left and Cobra took over. She remains with the Serpent Society even now.

Complications:Motivation – Mercenary: Copperhead, like many Serpents, is in it for the money.

Costs: Abilities 32 + Skills 2 + Advantages 9 + Defences 13 = 56 points An experienced member of the Serpent Society and a criminal who has been around the block a few times Davis Lawfers uses a number of items of equipment built into his special costume to create the identity of Copperhead. As a career criminal he has recently become the leader of the Serpent Society.

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Cottonmouth is a bully who takes what he likes fromn others and enjoys causing pain to get it.Distinctive: Cottonmouth has a bionic jaw which makes him stand out in a crowd without a disguise.

Costs: Abilities 22 + Skills 6 + Advantages 5 + Powers 6 + Defences 18 = 57 points Cottonmouth was a petty career criminal operating in the Southern United States. He was gifted with a bionic jaw by the Roxxon Corporation and became one of the members of Sidewinder’s Serpent Squad, and later the Serpent Society. He was a cruel and unpleasant man who was borderline cannibal in his use of his power to torture and maim. Cottonmouth remains a member of the Society. Okay, so the Serpent Society are, to a man, pretty crap but this guy takes the biscuit. His super-power allows him to bite. Nothing else, just bite... lame.

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Death Adder is a career criminal who is very much in it for the money.Distinctive: Death Adder’s cybernetic impants make him obviously superhuman.

Costs: Abilities 36 + Skills 9 + Advantages 2 + Powers 30 + Defences 16 = 93 points Death Adder was a silent killer, one of the first Serpent Society members and a respected member of that group. Cybernetic implants gave him venomous talons, enhanced durability and the ability to survive in water. After serving with the organisation for a time he was one of a series of supervillains murdered by the Scourge of the Underworld.

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Fer-de-Lance is a career criminal who is very much in it for the money.

Costs: Abilities 42 + Skills 7 + Advantages 4 + Defences 20 = 73 points Fer-de-lance is Teresa Vasquez, a woman from Puerto Rico who escaped poverty through crime and a desire to hurt people. She was one of Viper’s infiltrators in the Serpent Society and attempted to kill Sidewinder, but was stopped by Diamondback. Chemical treatments have somewhat enhanced her strength and durability and she fights with deadly retractable omnium spikes on each hand and foot.

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Princess Python likes the finer things in life and will willingly commit crimes to get them.Reputation: Everyone knows Princess Python to be a total coward.

Costs: Abilities 24 + Skills 13 + Advantages 13 + Defences 11 = 61 pointsZelda DuBois, as Princess Python, was a long standing member of the Circus of Crime who joined the Serpent Society early on because of the snake motif. She was a coward however who liked the advantages of being a member but was unwilling to take the risks. She was kicked out of the Society and returned to the Circus. Princess Python has been around the villain game for some time now and has actually been involved in battles with some of the biggest names in the hero biz. She has no powers but is a talented snake handler who is accompanied everywhere and protected by a large constrictor snake. It has recently been revealed that she is the mother of the Young Master of Evil Executioner. Note that Princess Python’s expertise in snake handling is based off of her Presence, and her dance expertise is based off agility. I love how utterly useless Princess Python is, enought to mess about with her and use her as the Big Bad in a game sometime. I can just imagine her becoming the avatar of a snake god and totally taking a team of heroes to bits with her surprise powers... Think King Hiss from the excellent Masters of the Universe cartoon in the early noughties. For now though, she's the one drummed out of the Serpent Society for being crap... how low can you go?

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Puff Adder is not a subtle man and wants money using his strength to get it..Relationship: Puff Adder is in a relationship with Anaconda.Prejudice: Puff Adder is a mutant.

Costs: Abilities 32 + Skills 5 + Advantages 3 + Powers 44 + Defences 15 = 99 points Gordon Fraley was a mutant born with an acid breath and the ability to inflate in size and strength. As Puff Adder he joined the Serpent Society as part of Viper’s coup and remained with the group after that. He entered into a relationship with Anaconda and briefly moonlighted with the Masters of Evil. Puff Adder was one of the many mutants who lost their powers on M-Day. Puff Adder's acid breath is kind of a ranged attack, but has such a short range that I just built it as a close attack with a bit of extra reach. Similarly he grows, but only to about ten feet or so, when he puffs up and I've basically just built that as a container. I'm very much in favour of doing that for growth in much the same way its become the "official" method of building Density.

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Rattler is a mercenary and out for himself and money.

Costs: Abilities 26 + Skills 10 + Powers 34 + Defences 17 = 87 points Gustav Kreuger’s past before becoming the Rattler remains unknown, he first appeared as a member of the Serpent Society after its formation, using his bionic tail to great effect. When Viper staged her coup against Sidewinder he willingly backed her and he remained with the organisation after her departure. He remains with the Serpent Society. Astonishingly, this guy is actually pretty effective for a member of the Serpent Society. He's not likely to last long in a fight with any big name super-hero, but he's certainly no slouch.

Complications:Motivation – Mercenary: Rock Python is out for the cash, although he does also have a pronounced mean streak.

Costs: Abilities 38 + Skills 9 + Powers 37 + Defences 15 = 99 points M’Gula is a South African who has a definite knowledge of science, particularly metallurgy, and a distinct and cruel criminal bent. The origins of his rock hard skin and somewhat enhanced strength are unknown but he joined the Serpent Society like many others during Viper’s coup and remained with them afterward. At one point he managed, along with other Serpents, to overcome and nearly kill Captain America. He remains an active member of the Society to date.

Complications:Motivation – Greed: Sidewinder is a pragmatist and is out for making money the best way he knows how.Enemy: Viper.Relationship: Sidewinder has a daughter named Amy who suffered a brain disease. Sidewinder was willing to go to jail and serve his full sentence on the condition she was given brain surgery.

Costs: Abilities 36 + Skills 11 + Advantages 7 + Powers 62 + Defences 13 = 129 points Seth Voelker was that rarest of villains, a man of uncommon pragmatism and almost no ego. His Serpent Society idea was a sincere one whereby the members would work together to ensure success and create profit and for quite some time it was a successful one. Sidewinder’s cloak’s only power initially was that of teleportation and no serpent spent more than a few hours behind bars before he appeared to “bail them out”. It must have stung all the more then when Viper staged her coup and most of the Society sided with her over the man who had originated the idea and saved them all from the law on countless occasions. He fled with the aid of Diamondback and later returned the favour when he saved her from a Society death sentence along with a freshly upgraded cloak that gave him the power to create energy tendrils. Sidewinder retired on the profits of his misdemeanors and has recently become something of a media personality talking about his status as a retired super criminal.

Defences: Dodge 9, Parry 10, Toughness 6, Fortitude 6, Will 3Complications:Motivation – Minion: Slither needs strong personalities to boss him around or he remains directionless.Prejudice: Slither is a mutant, and one with a distinctly inhuman appearance

Costs: Abilities 30 + Skills 7 + Advantages 4 + Powers 12 + Defences 17 = 70 points Slither is a mutant who was recruited to one of Magneto’s forgotten Brotherhoods of Evil Mutants, a group defeated by Captain America, and the Defenders at different points in time. He later became an obsequious lackey to the Viper and was one of the people who infiltrated the Serpent Society on her behalf. When Viper’s association with the society ended so did Slither’s, and he was last seen being handily beaten by the New Warriors. Slither’s mutation gives him serpentine abilities, including great strength for constricting others, and he has a cruel nature to go with it.

The Serpent SaucerThe primary mode of transportation for the Society is their Serpent Saucer, an odd craft which has been mistaken in the past for a UFO. The saucer is armed with heat seeking missiles.Size: Gargantuan, Strength: 14, Toughness: 11, Defence: 6, Flight Speed 6, Ranged Burst Area Damage 10 (Homing 3), Navigation System • 51 ep

Haha, such Jobberiness at such epic levels. Good stuff- I find it funny that your Society is even weaker in general than MINE were, and MINE were jobbers! Poor Boomslang & Princess Python really WERE weak-ass. My favourite Boomslang moment was when he charged Wolverine with his Serpent-Rangs, only to have them bounce harmlessly off of Wolvie's skull before getting punched out. Or the time he jobbed to nameless street goons.

Jabroniville wrote:My favourite Boomslang moment was when he charged Wolverine with his Serpent-Rangs, only to have them bounce harmlessly off of Wolvie's skull before getting punched out. Or the time he jobbed to nameless street goons.

Streets of Poison yeah?That was the first time I ever saw him, I was instantly in love.

Jabroniville wrote:Haha, such Jobberiness at such epic levels. Good stuff- I find it funny that your Society is even weaker in general than MINE were, and MINE were jobbers! Poor Boomslang & Princess Python really WERE weak-ass. My favourite Boomslang moment was when he charged Wolverine with his Serpent-Rangs, only to have them bounce harmlessly off of Wolvie's skull before getting punched out. Or the time he jobbed to nameless street goons.

I'm glad the complete ineffectualness of my Boomslang is striking a chord with his "fans"

Its the thing I love about M&M. I can create Heralds of Galactus, Elders of the Universe, street level vigilantes, and Princess Python and the rules balance them all out beautifully. Hell, the next guy I statted up after these losers was Annihilus, jumping from power level to power level is part of what makes building characters fun...

Complications:Motivation – Protection: Banshee seeks to protect his kind, whether that is his family, his students, or mutantkind in general. He has been known to make some very hard choices as a means to his ends in the past.Enemy: Black TomPower Loss: Injuries to Banshee’s throat may cost him some or all of his power.Prejudice: Banshee is a mutant.Reputation: Now that he has returned from the dead Banshee may have to deal with the fallout from his time as commander of the unwilling paramilitary X-Corps.

Costs: Abilities 44 + Skills 28 + Advantages 10 + Powers 61 + Defences 18 = 161 pointsh en So, its St Patrick's Day, so here's a wee Irish themed run of charcaters to give a shout out to my celtic cousins. I was a bit surprised that Banshee came in a bit under cost because he's actually a pretty versatile and capable character. He's an energy manipulator with a bit of an agent skill set. Offensively he's pretty badass, but he's slighty weak on defence and no great shakes in melee. Against characters with any kind of immunity to sonics (like, say, his arch-enemy) he might as well be a normal man.

Banshee's cousin and arch enemy is Black Tom Cassidy. Not surprised he came in under-pointed. Tom is a lot stronger on offence with his powers than he is in any other area. Really, he works better as a threat to Banshee (who can't affect him with his powers) while his big partner Juggernaut mops up the rest of the X-Men - as a solo threat he's no great shakes due to a pretty weak defence.

Complications:Motivation – Outsider: Like many members of the extended X-Factor Investigations family Siryn has a need to belong after a difficult and often lonely life.Relationships: her father Banshee, uncle Black Tom, as well as men in her life such as James Proudstar, Jamie Madrox, and even Deadpool complicate Teresa’s situation.Power Loss: Injuries to Siryn’s throat may cost her some or all of her power.Addiction: Siryn is a recovering alcoholic.

The third and final Irish build today. Ireland is a bit under-represented in Marvel comics to my mind. I can't think of any other major Irish heroes or villains at all. Obviously there's very minor players like Shamrock and Excalibur never-ran Ferun but that seems to be it. Siryn, like many legacy characters, plays like a diminutive version of her father with pretty much the same power-set but weaker. She's no slouch though and clocks in well below her PL point allocation, she'd have been a monster if I'd shunted her up to 150 points and it just goes to show what you can do with a starting PC.

Complications:Motivation – Acceptance: Ashley loves being part of the GLA because she has found a place where she fits in.Appearance Sensitive: Big Bertha moves between the the conventionally gorgeous supermodel and an obese form (which Deadpool certainly found hot) and she is extremely sensitive about the manner in which she is always judged by her appearance.

Complications:Motivation – Doing Good: Dinah’s reasons for being part of the GLA always remained her own but she remained with the team through an urge to do the right thing.Functionally Mute: Dinah is unable to speak as her voice operates at a frequency far beyond normal human hearing. The only person able to understand her is Mr Immortal, which may be due to or in some way the reason for their relationship.Prejudice: Dinah looks obviously inhuman and others often react to her appropriately.

Complications:Motivation – Doing Good: Like most of the rest of the GLA, Doorman is a well-meaning amateur.Guilt: Doorman suffers guilt over the death of Grasshopper (who died when an attack aimed at Doorman passed through him) and makes decisions on how to use his powers based on this guilt.

Complications:Motivation – Being A Hero: Flatman is not the most powerful of heroes but he does work hard to do the right thing.Intellectual Pretension: Dr Ventura claims to be a PHD but seems to struggle to present papers to prove it and seems somewhat less switched on than many would expect. In fact, it may be fair to expect that he’s really not all that bright.

Complications:Motivation – Doing Good: Craig Hollis’ drive to improve the world around him led to his formation of the Great Lakes Avengers. He knows he’s not the most powerful hero around but that doesn’t stop him.Depression: Hollis is prone to depression, a state of mind exacerbated by the death of his lover Dinah Soar.Temper: When Mr Immortal wakes from death his rages are immense.

Call them the Great Lakes Avengers/X-Men/Defenders/Champions/Initiative, or even call them the Lightning Rods, but here are the founding members of the Mid-West's own flagship super team. The GLA are not really an effective fighting unit, most of them don't actually have any offensive powers and an average PL10 hero could probably pretty much school the whole group. That said, they were fun to build, although they've been around for 25 years and have made relatively few appearances and not a great deal is known about most of them.

Right, been ages since I posted any characters to this thread, but I offered to do a 3E version of obscure former West Coast Avenger Firebird in a thread in the DC forum, so I'm back in the saddle. May try to post a few more characters in the next couple of days as well.

Complications:Motivation – Doing Good: As both a social worker and a super hero Bonita has dedicated her life to helping those who need her.Faith: Bonita is a very staunch Catholic and makes many of her decisions based on her beliefs.Unknown Limits: There is a sense that Firebird has only really touched the edges of the full extent of her power and who knows what entities would be interested in her if she began to display more of her potential.

A character with a fair bot of potential (in all senses of the word) Bonita Juarez discovered a chunk of space rock that gave her super-powers. The nature of these powers has been hinted to be divine, or based on the Phoenix Force given the similarities of her Firebird effect to Jean Grey's. Probably due to the fact that she was largely forgotten after her brief stint with the West Coast Avengers a lot of questions remain unanswered about Firebird. There are hints that she is immortal, she certainly is pretty durable, but this has never been truly tested so its up to the individual GM. There are also hints that she could have the potential to be a cosmic level hero but since the furthest she's ever got is Texas as a member of the Fifty State Initiative team The Rangers.

Thanks for doing Firebird, TOP! I thoroughly enjoyed it, including the picture!

Paging down to Firebird, I also noticed another favorite, Big Bertha! Another good profile!

Do you take requests for builds? Do you have any other Marvel characters in mind for upcoming profiles? I have some favorites that I would love to see you profile, including some obscure, low-to mid-level power level ones.